And then there were two, maybe one.

Posted Thursday, May 27, 2010, at 2:24 PM

Most of the cats have disappeared slowly. I still have hopes that BW will return since boys have a tendency to go on "walk-abouts" but yesterday afternoon we lost one of his sisters (Meowie) to the road. She had a habit of coming out to greet us as we arrived and I fear that she came to greet a car that did not see her or slow down.

Either way, we found her dead at the precise place we always cross the fence to feed them. She was a few feet off the road so I think she was very close to the edge and tumbled down after being hit.

I hop the person did not see her or they could not move over the extra few inches be cause a car was coming, but we won't know.

Meowie is the one who I had to give antibiotics to early last fall. She is also the one who was very close to BW so in a way, maybe it is good if BW does not come back.

Now we are down to the original patriarch and maybe the mother (Sally), but she has been gone a day or two as well. Meowie will be buried in our pet cemetery with all of our other "passed" pets. The others are lost to the world, so we do not know where they are.

Our newest arrival Holly, will more than likely provide us with a new family to care for, but at least these will be up at the house. She currently has run of our 1500 squ. ft garage all to herself, but I will probably start letting the other cats in to say hello this week. They have been waiting patiently outside.

It's always hard to lose them, even when they aren't indoor lap pets.I suspect you may have a coyote or two in your neck of the woods. Cat seems to be their favorite meal.

-- Posted by MotherMayhem on Fri, May 28, 2010, at 10:04 AM

Well Mary, one of the mama cats (feral or domesticated - unknown) in our neighborhood has solved the coyote problem. She has moved her three, three-week old, kittens into an abandoned squirrel hole in one of our trees. We found them because one of our dogs had become obsessed with that tree over the last three days.

We checked the kittens out (three males.) The runt has a mild eye infection, which I am treating. She may have more hidden elsewhere and the dogs interrupted her moving plans. We will watch them to see how they fare or if she brings more or moves this lot elsewhere.

They are really cute- two almost all white, one with a grey spot one the top of his head and the other with a small black spot; the third looks like a tuxedo rabbit, black mask and black splotches on his back. I am concerned about how they will get out when they are weaned. They were small enough for her to carry in, but the hole is deep and up high in the tree - how will they get out on their own? She solved her current problem of protecting them from the coyotes; but cats don't plan well for the future. I don't think she thought about how to get them out. We'll see.

-- Posted by amalphia on Sat, May 29, 2010, at 1:09 PM

i am so sorry she got killd some people swerve just on purpose.

I have seen people point their cars on putpose tword animals to scare or hit them. It grieves me big time.

-- Posted by 4fabfelines on Sun, May 30, 2010, at 9:38 AM

Losing Meowie was a tough one. She is the one I gave antibiotics to at an early stage. She and BW seemed to be the closest and we do not know where BW is right now. Being a male, he could be on a "walk-about".

I was out of town when it happened, so we buried her yesterday along with our other cherished pets. ON her grave marker we will put the other members of her family that are un-accounted for. BW, Minnie and Sable and will be happy the scratch the names off if they come back.

Almalphia, if she got in the tree carrying them, they should have enough room to come out. Caring for them is probably the one weakness they have in defending themselves from coyotes.

Although we have coyotes all around us, I don't think that is what got them, if they were "got". The area is heavily forested and escape is just a jump away and up a tree. They could have made a mistake but they survived in the same area for over 8 months.

The three possibilities I see are a bobcat ( who could pursue them up a tree) bobcat disease (which is ruthless) or they moved their family to a new area for hunting purposes. In the wild, their food source would be depleted in the area they grew up, so even though they had a ready food source (us), their instincts might have been to find new hunting ground.

Obviously, the last possibility is the one I prefer to envision. We had no cats for three days and I closed down the shelter, but last night Sally and Big Boy were back. Neither ate frantically so I do not think they were starving. Sally was there again this morning, so there is still hope.

-- Posted by stevemills on Sun, May 30, 2010, at 3:22 PM

we can pray for your furry friends. I want to tell you thank you so much. I get so depressed when i hear and see so much cruelty and death.. it is nice to hear of a kind and godly friend out there caring for His small creatures.

-- Posted by 4fabfelines on Sun, May 30, 2010, at 6:40 PM

You are welcome and thank all of you for caring.

With budgets as tight as they are we understand that some families can not keep their pets. That by itself can be tough on the heart, but dropping them in the country more often than not, will lead to their deaths in hostile environment.

Maybe they have never had to hunt for food, maybe they are constantly on the run from predators, alone, when they used to have companionship..... I can go on, but it is depressing to me as well.

We can not really afford to take on more pets, but as the Lord puts them in our care, we try to do our best. I was trying to take the last remaining cat (Sally) home with us last night. She was fine until she hit the seat of the truck and then it was all fury.

She made it back out and took off into the woods. I guess she has made her choice very clear so I probably won't try that again. Of course, I may not get the chance since she was AWOL this morning for food.

-- Posted by stevemills on Mon, May 31, 2010, at 6:59 AM

Sally did show back up tonight along with Big Boy. I did not try to pet her, but she got close anyway.

Steve Mills and his wife have one daughter. They previously owned two coffee/ice cream shops, currently operate an internet sales company and teach classes, but his primary job involves the paper industry worldwide. Hobbies and interests lie in gardening, photography, recorded music and of course, their pets.